My Fellow Newbie

Steve Marker will be sworn onto the Fairview City Council with me on January 6, and I’m honored and excited to work with such an experienced public servant.

Steve is a 20-year Fairview volunteer. He’s served as chair of the public safety committee, helped get Lakeshore Park built, helped lead restoration of the Salish wetlands, and supports Fairview’s new food pantry, which opened earlier this year at his church, Smith Memorial Presbyterian. They now serve about 75 families every Saturday.

Steve is seriously committed to his community. And he’s fun! He was a DJ for years in Portland bars and nightclubs, and like me, has a soft spot for 80s dance music. “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)” by Information Society is one of his ring tones. Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science” is another. “I’m a big kid,” he says.

Steve has led an interesting life, with 20 years in the Navy, work that allowed him to live for a total of 13 years in Japan and Hawaii. He ran a youth center in Pearl Harbor and started his DJ work there on weekends. After he retired from the service, he worked at FedEx, driving for 23 of 24 years with the company. He liked the work, but the hours kept him from serving on the city council – a long-time goal.

Now that he’s retired, and, with the encouragement of Mayor Brian Cooper, he ran for a seat in the November election, winning his race against former Fairview Mayor Mike Weatherby.

I like Steve. He’s honest and direct. He shows up and gets the work done, like teaming up with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to stock the Salish Ponds and lead the first kids’ fishing day. His commitment to his community earned him Fairview’s Bonita Jenkins Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2018.

Steve has a lot of things he wants to accomplish. One of them is reducing property crimes, like car break-ins and mailbox thefts. He knows on the council, we’ll need community support to make change happen.

“Make no mistake about it,” he says. “It takes volunteers to help the city council do its job.”

Agreed! Fired up and ready to work with Steve and the rest of the council in the new year. With luck, Steve can DJ a community dance party celebrating the end of quarantine. Now that would be something to look forward to.